Ben Ramsey was a software architect in Atlanta searching for a new job. He interviewed in the San Francisco Bay area, but because of contacts he had made in user groups online and at conferences, he was familiar with a growing software developer community in Nashville and moved here instead.

"There was a collection of like-minded developers I had met from conferences," said Ramsey, who took a job in 2010 with Moontoast. "I had known about some of the activities that Marcus (Whitney) had started like BarCamp and that sort of thing. I knew there was a growing tech scene here. Those were all factors coming into play."

As Nashville seeks to add to its tech talent, Ramsey's story underlines the value of building awareness of opportunities in Nashville through events such as user group meetings and hack events such as CoderFaire and HackNashville. By developing those already existing groups and events that encourage collaboration and sharing ideas, Nashville can attract other developers and further grow the pool of tech talent that is in high demand.

"That is what builds the tech community," Ramsey said, pointing to Austin as an example of a city that has seen such outcomes. "If Nashville can host and build events that can generate buzz, [people think], 'I want to be a part of that community. I will be around thought leaders.'"

Cost of living was a big plus for Nashville and a reason why Ramsey was less interested in California and New York, he said. One concern that he had before he moved to Nashville was that if Moontoast didn't prove to be a good fit, would there be other opportunities?

"You never know what's going to happen to a startup," he said, adding that Moontoast has been a good decision for him. "What would be my options?"

That "what next?" question comes up for those in the tech industry considering a move to a less established tech city. As the startup community further develops, that concern will become more of an issue, he said.